Official Site of the Phillies · May 4, 2016
Splitter serving Neris well in relief
Hector Neris relieves Aaron Nola in the bottom of the 8th inning and strikes out all three Cardinals he facesST. LOUIS -- Phillies manager Pete Mackanin calls Hector Neris' split-finger fastball an invisible pitch. More and more opponents may start to agree.
Neris has gained confidence with the pitch with every outing this season. Combine his new-found willingness to throw the splitter in any count with a mid-90's fastball and it's a potent late-inning combination.
Neris has racked up 27 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings with a 1.10 ERA. He struck out all three Cardinals he faced in the eighth inning of Tuesday's 1-0 Phillies win, setting the tone with his first pitch.